Refined

Comfort and security do not change a man. Only adversity can do that. We are hallowed and habilitated in difficult times.

Sinecure

We routinely change our political leaders. But the apparatchiks are beyond our reach. “When the country is confused and in chaos, loyal ministers appear.”

Status quo

The statement “We’ve always done it this way” is all by itself the best reason to stop doing it.

Worry

Some people think that they are taking responsibility for their problems by worrying about them. That’s actually the opposite of what they’re doing.

Canaries in ball caps

When a man says, “I think,” that’s typically not what is happening. It’s more likely that he is being thought, that the culture is cuing him up and telling him what to say.